65 



have been attacked. The Borneo Estate is quite a newly formed 

 one and in Perak the fungus has appeared on a newly planted 

 portion. In both cases the disease is sporadic, and does not appear 

 to have spread to other trees just as was the case in Irpex. It 

 must, however, be remembered that the trees attacked are young 

 and have not spread that mass of roots interlacing with those of 

 the next trees that we have in the big trees attacked by Fomes. In 

 the case of coffee attacked by Irpex nothing was done, but to aban- 

 don the spot where the fungus had appeared, and probably with 

 the decay of the food supply of the fungus, the fungus itself would 

 die away. 



Whatever be the fungus which has caused this destruction it will 

 certainly be advisable to lime the soil well where the tree has died 

 and to avoid planting any more rubber trees on this spot. 



It might be a good thing also in cases like this to plant a Banana 

 plant or two on the infected ground. These polypori cannot of 

 course, grow on Bananas, and the plants help to break up the de- 

 composed and infected wood and roots beneath the soil. This has 

 been tried in the Botanic Gardens against Fomes. The ground in- 

 fected was dug over, treated with lime and copper sulphate, and 

 planted with Bananas, and the fungus in this patch seems to have 

 quite disappeared. It is however the oldest bit of the infected area 

 and the fungus may have died out of itself. This fungus what- 

 ever it is should be carefully watched, to see that it does not spread 

 to the trees next to it. 



H. N. R. 



PARA RUBBER TAPPING IN JAVA 



In the "Journal a" Agriculture Tropicale, January, 1906, p. 9, there 

 is published an article by M. TROMP DE Haas on tapping rubber 

 in the Experimental Gardens at Tjikeumeuh in Java. He begins by 

 pointing out how trees vary in the amount of latex they produce and 

 how important it is to select seed from the most productive trees. 

 This is I think, appreciated by all. It is the line on w r hich cultivation 

 in its true sense must take in this class of plants. Trees vary con- 

 siderably in the amount of latex, and also in the amount of Caout- 

 chouc they produce but this is not always due to the idiosyncracy of 

 the tree. A tree occasionally produces but little at one time, and 

 might be considered worthless or nearly so, but a few years later it 

 produces for some occult reason quite as much as could be expected 

 of it. A tree in the Botanic Gardens Singapore tapped many years 

 ago refused give any milk at all, though a quite similar tree close by 

 gave two pounds and a half. It was noticed in this tree that the 

 bark seemed loose, as if so to say it was too big for the trunk. Some 

 years afterwards on being tapped again it was found to be quite as 

 good a milker as the other and has continued so ever since. Another 

 tree on being tapped re (used to give milk, till a Fiddlewood tree 

 close by it was cut down when it gave plenty of latex. In this 



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